Tomorrow's Hope
by PrincessKanako
Summary: "Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul - and sings the tunes without the words - and never stops at all." That is what the Guardian's believe, and what humans believe. But they couldn't have been more wrong...ON HIATUS.
1. Snatched

A cool wind brushed through the loose locks of her long, honey-coloured hair as a young woman hurried along the forest road, the leaves overhead filtering late afternoon sunlight down onto the wide path before her. The weight of the basket upon her arm hampered her speed, but she thought little of its weight.

Far off, she could hear the bright, sprightly voices of birds, and her own lips echoed their song. She thought of the pleased smirk that would touched the lips of Bunnymund at her arrival, and a smile of her own grew. She looked down at her basket, and lifted a corner of the cloth. A plump loaf of bread, with a small jar of Bunny's favourite jam, apples, and a small carrot cake. Her smile grew larger as she saw the portal for the warren in the distance.

"My my my, what have we here?"

Her smile dropped, and her feet pulled to a stop as her eyes lifted, meeting the level gaze of a man. Greasy, knotted hair covered his head. His clothes, ragged and worn, looked as if they had not been washed in many year, if they ever had. And his eyes... She gulped stiffly. Oh, she knew those eyes

"Good day," she said, wishing her voice did not tremble so. He was, after all, nothing now, to her or any of the Guardians. There was no need to fear him. She moved to pass him, but he moved to block her path, his arms akimbo, and his eyes fixed coldly upon her. She drew back a step, struggling to keep the fear from her face.

"I don't think it would be such a good idea to let you pass," he said. "I think you've got something I've been craving for some time."

The man chuckled, but the laughter was without humour, and his eyes were hard and dark.

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean," she stammered. "Now if you'll excuse me..."

"I don't think so," he growled. "I'm quite enjoying our conversation, my _dear_."

A chill iced down her spine. Never before had she been studied in such a brash, calculating manner. She felt stripped to the skin before his bold gaze, and shuddered at the sickly sensation. The day had been warm today, and she had worn a light green dress, the sleeves full and open, and the neck scooped low, clinging to the edges of her slender shoulders. She had felt no need for a cloak, and now, she wished she had brought one.

"Yes," he snarled. "Let's continue our chat somewhere more...private."

Feeling her heart stiffening with fear, she drew back another step, but he advanced on her, making up ground. A sharp gasp tore from her lips as he tore the handle of her basket from her hands, flinging it and its contents to the side of the road, where the food spilled out of the cloth, the apples rolling in different directions. His eyes continued to study her like a wolf, ready to tear into its helpless prey, a wild chill of terror icing its way down her spine.

"Please," she pleaded, hearing now the wild trembling in her voice that she made no effort to mask. "Do not hurt me."

She felt a tear spill from an eye and trail down her cheek, but the man before her only sneered more darkly. He turned suddenly, glancing over his shoulder down the path that bent away into the trees as if looking for something. She too glanced over her own shoulder back the way she had come, hoping with all her heart, that she would see _someone_ coming along the pathway. But there was no one. A hard grip seized her wrist then, and she spun back, a sharp scream escaping her, though it was immediately cut off as the man spun her, and clamped a filthy-smelling hand over her mouth.

"None of that now," he snarled against her hair. "We don't want to attract unnecessary attention now, do we?"

Even if she screamed now, she realised, the sound would not carry far. No-one else was around to hear. Despair washed over her. Fear surged through her blood, and she struggled, fighting against his hold, but his grip was like iron, and he held her tightly against his chest as he lifted her easily, despite her struggles, and carried her off the road into the thick of the forest.

* * *

**Ahh! Probably my best opening chapter EVER! Hello, by the way! So, this is my first ROTG fiction, so I beg your indulgence with my little fic. I mightn't be able to update it regularly, but I will try to update as much as I can. **

**Oh, please ************check out my facebook for my pictures and ahead-of-time updates: **www. facebook pages /Princess -Kanakos -Fanfiction / 516288011749438? ref= hl **********(just remove all the spaces!)**

**********Please review!**

**********Much love, Princess Kanako x **


	2. Poof

"North, we have a problem, mate," Bunny said as he strode into North's private workshop, to which North paused and sighed, his work in his hands ceasing. He set the chisel on the wooden table, and turned.

"It's Hope," Bunny continued, his voice brisk and business-like as the irritation on North's face dropped and a look of utmost determination replaced it. "She's disappeared. Vanished. Poof."

"You are sure she is not in wood?" North replied, starting to pace, frowning when Bunny shook his head. "At Tooth palace? In hometown?"

Bunny's jaw grew more and more taut as North continued,and eventually-

"Of course she's not in any of those places! Don't you think I looked, mate? I asked Tooth and Sandy before I went around to hers, when I found this."

He held up a now slightly grubby-looking wicker basket, with a dirty cloth inside. On the cloth were three bruised apples, several chunks of a dark cake with pits of dirt and twig sticking firmly to the crumbly texture, and a cracked jar of jam. It wasn't rocket science. North knew. Without asking him, without guessing, North knew exactly what had happened. As if the very nearness fear Hope had felt had left its mark.

"We must look for her."

A soft, mirthless laugh broke past Bunny's lips at this.

"Don't you think I know that, mate?"

"You do not understand," North snapped, to which Bunny flinched. "We must find her _at once_. Hope is more important then Man in Moon tells us. We find her, everything will be okay. If not-"

"Then it's just a repeat of what happened with Pitch, but much worse," he muttered, almost as if to himself. "Bloody fantastic."

"Point exactly," North replied as he strode from the room, heading to the globe to summon the other Guardians.

* * *

Alice slid open the window and crept out onto the roof of the garage, making sure her coat was done up tight. Going here was nothing new to her; she came here often when she wanted to be alone. She always knew she wouldn't be disturbed; her aunt always assumed she was busy, while her cousins kept their mother occupied downstairs. As of yet, none of them showed any interest of going up onto the roof, for which Alice was glad. The roof was the place she went to be alone, here she could survey the world around her and yet not be a part of it. This suited her perfectly. So, you can imagine the shock she had when she climbed out to find Jamie sitting there.

"Jamie?" she said incredulously. Jamie jumped at his name and looked around. Soundlessly, Alice walked across the sloped roof to sit with Jamie. However, on seeing Jamie's tear stained face; Alice forgot her initial discomfort at finding her sacred space invaded and shuffled closer to her cousin.

"Jamie," she whispered, her voice soft, "What's wrong?"

Jamie fidgeted with the hem of his sweater and stayed silent. Seeing him so cheerless only fanned the flames of the proverbial fire of comfort in Alice's head. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I have this friend," Jamie said suddenly, "A really good friend. But I haven't seen him in a while, and I'm wondering if he's forgotten about me."

"Jamie," Alice mumbled, putting an arm around his shoulders, "Why don't you call him?"

"He...moved away," Jamie replied sadly, a strange glazed look about his eyes, as if he was a long way away.

"Write him a letter?"

"I don't know where he lives."

"What's his name?"

"Jack."

"Jack..." Alice let the name linger on her lips for a few moments before moving briskly on. "I think it's time to come inside now, Jamie. I'll make some hot cocoa for you, if you like."

Her cousin nodded mutely, standing up carefully before he trudged back to the trapdoor. Alice followed him just as quietly, only speaking once in the kitchen as she got out the milk and cocoa powder.

"Trust me Jamie, your pal Jack hasn't forgotten about you."

* * *

**Yay! Managed to update ahead of schedule for once! Thanks to **Radar1388 **for reviewing! Merci, mon ami!**

**Oh, please ************check out my facebook for my pictures and ahead-of-time updates: **www. facebook pages /Princess -Kanakos -Fanfiction / 516288011749438? ref= hl **********(just remove all the spaces!)**

**********Please review!**

**********Much love, Princess Kanako x **


	3. Spilt Blood

***This chapter is slightly gory - viewer discretion is advised. If you are squeamish, do not read!***

He watched, as the unconscious woman in front of him slowly started to move, instinctively trying to stretch out of her restraints. Her eyes opened, the normally calm blue eyes wild and frightened as she realised just _where _she was - and who was staring at her. He sent the woman a feral grin, his eyes glowing with bloodlust.

"Are you comfortable, Hope? After all, I'm positive you have stood in my place plenty of times, destroying lives. Care not for experiencing the other side?" he asked mockingly. After a moment's silence, in which nothing was heard, the sadistic man continued. "That is too bad, then, for you. Because this is merely the very beginning."

Hope opened her eyes, and glaring at him with absolute hatred in her now icy eyes, spat out, "How simple – you're going to grant me death, I suppose, as a punishment for the problems in _your_ life?"

Pitch laughed, actually amused.

"Do you think I would just _give_ you death? Not at all. For you, I will not have it so _simple," _he mocked. "Death is a privilege that you must _earn. _And you _will_ earn it, you pathetic waste of life, that I guarantee. But it will be a long and very agonizing journey for you, make no mistake."

Every muscle in Hope's body snapped taut as she felt as though a thousand knives were being forced through her body, slicing her to shreds. She screamed, jerking against her restraints as her body continued to tell her that she was being cut – only there was no knife or sword – and no blood. It didn't matter, however. All that counted was the pain. Pitch grinned dangerously.

"What is wrong, Hope? Did that hurt you?" he taunted. Hope snarled at the baiting tone of the man she now hated more than any other.

"I care not to hear your worthless voice," she hissed. "Leave me!"

With a sadistic chuckle that was filled with malicious amusement, Pitch said, "You brought this on yourself, you know. You should have stayed in your little palace, instead of interfering with my plans."

A feral gleam sparked in his eyes, then, as his grin widened. Reaching out with a pointed fingernail, he very precisely sank it into the Guardian's skin just at her collarbone, just deep enough to get through the first two layers of skin, and then dragged it down, slowly, enjoying the pained hiss from his enemy. Holding his gaze on her face, he lifted his hand, then repeated what he'd done on both arms, then on his legs, leaving long, bloody marks decorating her flesh.

"How dare you!" she snarled, in pain, but not nearly the worst pain she'd ever been in. Pitch chuckled.

"Think you that this is all there is to your pain? Think again, my dear. This is merely the very beginning."

He brought his hand out from behind his back and gently tossed a small amount of a green liquid in a bottle at her. Her eyes widened as the liquid hit her flesh, a scream of shock and pain leaving her throat as her body arched away from the rock. In agony, she was blind to the satisfied gleam in Pitch's eyes. The stuff he'd coated her with was rat poison, and would soak into the slices in her flesh, leaving her feeling as though she were burning in a fire – but suffering for a lot longer than a being did when it was a true fire. In a true fire, a person was in utter agony, true – but only for about eight seconds. And then the flesh was completely burned away, and so were the nerves, leaving a person unable to feel anything more as they simply burned away into death. This wasn't that way. It would assure the same suffering as a fire – but for several hours.

And this was only the beginning.

Pitch knew all sorts of tortures, ones that had been used in many different countries and cultures, and he only performed the best of them – the ones designed to wring the utmost pain from its victims – but slowly. Because if you went too far, too fast, a person could die from the pain alone. He was a master at judging just what a being could take, and still live – at least, for a time. Hope, even though she was a woman, was strong, due to her Guardian status, and would last, if handled right, for several long days. Pitch planned to wring every bit of suffering from the being that had destroyed his life.

Hope, in her searing, blind agony, reached out with her mind, looking for someone, _anyone_, who could help her; who could tell the Guardians where she was, who could save her from her own, personal hell. In her mind, she grasped a soft, fluttering feeling and wrapped herself in it. Instantly, the pain disappeared. Oh, she knew that physically, she was still being tortured, that the poison was eating away at her skin. But she could rest now, wrapped in the soothing presence as she was.

She could rest - and find a way to get out of here.

* * *

**Yay! Managed to update! Thanks to **Radar1388 **for reviewing! Merci, mon ami! Yes, it's PITCH! Is anyone really surprised? He's evil; and I'm showing that QUITE clearly, I feel, in this chapter. Also, that he's kind of crazy.**

**Oh, please ************check out my facebook for my pictures and ahead-of-time updates: **www. facebook pages /Princess -Kanakos -Fanfiction / 516288011749438? ref= hl **********(just remove all the spaces!)**

**********Please review!**

**********Much love, Princess Kanako x **


	4. Frosty Banter

"Alice," said a small voice next to her, "I'm cold."

Alice looked down at the small child beside her, her hands automatically reaching out for the small girl that trooped miserably beside her.

"We're not too far now, Soph. Only a few minutes and we'll be home." She patted the young girl on the back, shifting her weight to one arm as she held the umbrella with the other. "Come here, darling, I'll warm you up. Tuck your hands into my scarf, yes, that's it."

Sophie buried her tiny face into Alice's neck, golden hair dripping with water despite the umbrella over them.

"Bed," she mumbled. Alice stopped, and with difficulty, felt her temperature She hadn't been that warm this morning, right?

"All right darling, you'll be in bed soon," Alice soothed. "We'll get you some medicine, and I'll make you something nice to eat."

"'Getti?"

Alice chuckled, amused by her cousin's simple, child-like desires.

"Alright," she replied, turning the corner. "You can have 'getti"

* * *

"I know, darling," Alice murmured as she stepped closer and scooped Sophie up. "You can have a nap after your bath. You'll feel so much better."

The bath went much easier than usual. The only advantage of Sophie being sick, Alice mused, was that the bathroom stayed relatively dry, and she didn't get her usual baptismal renewal, for which she was morbidly thankful.

"Now lift up your arms, darling. Yes, both of them. I wonder what's been growing down there."

"Mushrooms?"

"Yum yum," Alice teased, making Sophie giggle quietly. She picked up the bottle of shampoo that had been left beside the bath and squirted some into her hand before lathering it in Sophie's hair. Without a shred of hesitation, she gave her cousin a thorough suds-ing and didn't stop until Sophie was covered in bubbles from head to toe. Then she rinsed her off quickly before lifting the sick child out of the bath and wrapping her up in a towel while the bath drained. Alice made sure to dry off Sophie's hair thoroughly once she was in her pjs, not exactly liking the idea of an even sicker Sophie.

"...can have 'getti now?" Sophie yawned as Alice tucked her up in her bed. "Hungry."

"When you wake up darling," Alice murmured, "Time for a nap now."

* * *

Jack Frost tossed and turned, but he thought nothing of it. He hadn't been sleeping well for over a week. His mind kept turning over his memories, his _human _memories. He could still see his little sister in front of him on the ice, the fear in her voice, the trust in her eyes. He'd half wondered if Jamie was a descendent of hers. They did look uncannily alike.

_"Jack! Jack Frost!"_

Jack's eyes popped open and he sat bolt upright as a whisper floated through his mind. A grin began to spread itself across his face as he realised it was a child's voice. His feet touched the floor when another whisper hit him.

_"Jack! Please, Jack!"_

His mind made up (and he was curious too), he stood and quickly threw on his hoodie and grabbed his staff before taking a running leap out the window, and towards the voice that was calling him.

* * *

Jack didn't make a sound as he landed on top of a street-lamp, frosty eyes scanning the street when he noticed a pair of cinnamon eyes watching him. Jack sighed and flew over to the window, entering through the window as Jamie pulled back. Said boy walked backwards until he bumped into his bed, sinking into the soft mattress.

"You called?" Jack asked, half casual, half nervous at what he thought Jamie's reaction would be.

"Yup," Jamie replied quietly, "I wanted to know where you were."

Jack put his hands in his pockets.

"At the moment, I'm hanging around Europe," Jack said honestly, "But when you called, I was having a nap in North's place."

"Sorry." Jamie looked embarrassed. "I just wondered. It's been a while and I half-thought that you'd forgotten me."

"Jamie, you know I wouldn't," Jack said reassuringly. "I should've dropped by sooner. I'm sorry."

"It's fine." Jamie grinned. Jack noted absently that the gap where he'd accidentally knocked out Jamie's tooth had a brand new one in its place. Had he really been gone _that _long?

"How's North? And Bunny? Oh, and Tooth-"

Jack couldn't help the grin as Jamie rambled, questioning him about his fellow Guardians.

"Jamie!" A voice called up the stairs. Jamie's mile-a-minute mouth stopped and he glanced towards the door. "I'm making spaghetti for dinner, is that alright?"

"Yeah!" Jamie yelled back. Jack raised a brow. That wasn't his mom's voice. Did he have a nanny or something now? Or did he have a big sister stashed away?

"Who's that?" he asked.

"My cousin, Alice," Jamie explained, "She's staying with us for a while."

"Really? Why?" Jack was beyond curious now. A renegade cousin emerging from the woodwork?

"She's going to the college nearby next fall. She wanted to get used to the area until she gets her own place."

Oh, exciting.

"You know, she told me that you hadn't forgotten me," Jamie said after a moment. Jack stared at him incredulously.

"She told you?" he repeated. Jamie scratched his ear nervously.

"Well, when I say you, I don't mean-"

"Jamie! Who're you talking to?"

"Umm-" a quick glance at the figure on his window-seat. "Jack Frost!"

A slight pause.

"Is that the friend you were telling me about a couple of weeks ago?"

"Yeah!"

"Oh." Her voice was lilting, Jack noted, as if she hummed or sang a lot. "Tell him if he forgets about you again, I'll kick his butt!"

Jamie laughed while two frosty eyebrows rose.

"I don't think you could!" Jamie managed between laughs.

"Try me, little man! I could be the size of an elephant and be able to sort you out, no problem!"

"I get it, I get it!"

It took a few minutes but Alice went back to doing her own chores downstairs while Jack and Jamie talked. Jamie was ecstatic to see Jack again. Jack - well, he was proud to see the little boy who first believed in him was still hanging on.

* * *

**Yay! Managed to update! ****I do apologise for the goriness in the last chapter. Hopefully, that won't happen again for QUITE some time. To make up for that, I got some light 'aww' moments between Alice and Sophie/Jack and Jamie. Hey, Alice needs to bond with _both_ her cousins, after all! And I thought that Jack would probably come back and see Jamie at some point!**

**Oh, please ************check out my Facebook for my pictures and ahead-of-time updates: **www. facebook pages /Princess -Kanakos -Fanfiction / 516288011749438? ref= hl **********(just remove all the spaces!)**

**********Please review!**

**********Much love, Princess ************Kanako x**


	5. Author's Note!

Hello!

I know, I've been a douche bag (among many other things) for not updating for a while. I have no other excuse, except that I simply forgot what this story was to me. However, I recently got a (metaphorical) kick in the ass by a friend of mine who was upset to see so many unfinished stories on my account. Between the two of us, we are deciding what ones will be taken down/put up for adoption/put on hiatus, and what ones to keep. Most of my stories made the cut, and are just being put on hiatus until others are finished. The new schedule for my stories is as follows:

_Duty_ (Star Wars - pairing Qui-Gon/OC, Obi-Wan/OC, Padme/OC): Update every Sunday

_My Dark Angel_ (DNAngel - pairing Daisuke/Riku, slight Dark/Rika, Dark/OC/Krad): Update every Monday

_The Lost Lady - An Unexpected Journey_ (The Hobbit - pairing Thorin/OC): Updated every Tuesday/Wednesday

_Unwilling Guardian Angel_ (NWZorro - pairing Zorro/OC): Updated every Thursday

_A Stranger's Smile_ (On my joint account): Updated every Friday

_To Trudge Towards The Light_ is on my computer and already completed, so I'm hoping to finish that first in one go, then focus on my other stories completely, and stick to the schedule. As for the others not mentioned here, I will work on them when I'm finished working with the ones listed above; I'm sorry, but I'm an idiot and I can't have like, ten on-going stories at one time Five I can manage, but ten - hell no. Said stories are:

_Obsidian Eyes_ (CardCaptor Sakura - pairing Yue/OC)

_Roses of May_ (Phantom of the Opera - mixed movie-verse, P's/OC's)

_The Potter's and the Philosopher's Stone_ (Harry Potter - no pairing as of now)

_The Threads of Fate_ (Shinzo - pairing Mushra/Yakumo, Kutal/OC, Sago/OC, Mushrambo/OC, OC/OC)

_Tomorrow's Hope_ (Rise of the Guardians - pairing Jack Frost/OC, slight Bunnymund/OC)

I would like to thank all the lovely people who pmed me (you know who you are!) asking what happened to one or the other of my stories, and asked if I was alright. Yes, duckies, I'm fine, and I'm touched by your concern. Much thankies! I would also like to thank all of the people who favorited, put on alert, and reviewed. You really are amazing, guys, and I'm so sorry to have left you all hanging.

Much love, Princess Kanako x


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